


Protector

by JoMo3



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 08:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13759953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMo3/pseuds/JoMo3
Summary: Eleven thinks Mike is keeping a secret from her. Mike just wants her to be safe.





	Protector

**Author's Note:**

> So I needed a small break from Hearts in Hawkins (the last chapter of that should hopefully be up soon). Hope you like this.

Eleven was becoming concerned. She was nearly seven months into her year of re-hiding and, until recently, had no reason to be worried. Yes, she still dealt with cabin fever, loneliness, and boredom. But it wasn’t nearly as bad as the first 353 days she’d been hiding. Since she had closed the Gate, Hopper had relented and agreed to letting her friends visit her. Starting right after the new year, once a week the party of Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin were able to come up to the cabin and spend time with her. She looked forward to those days like no other, as the cabin would fill with laughter, loud voices, and a playful atmosphere. Then, beginning around early April, Mike began to come visit on his own sometimes. Eleven  _ loved _ days like that. The two would play games, watch TV (unlike Hopper, Mike wouldn’t roll his eyes at her soap operas). One time, Mike made a little picnic for the two of them. Even though Hopper was reluctant to let them venture far, they were able to sit on a blanket a little ways (but within Hopper’s view) from the cabin.

Now, school was out, and the party’s visits had increased to two, sometimes three times a week, depending on Hopper’s mood. With the increase of the party’s visits, Mike’s visit independent of them had increased, too. That is, until recently.

It was a Thursday. The party had last made the trip to the cabin on Monday, but Mike hadn’t been with them.  _ He says he’s too busy _ , they’d told her.

Eleven had been concerned, and called him that night. He’d sounded tired, and said that he had to babysit Holly.

So she figured he would’ve came up on Tuesday or Wednesday, but that wasn’t the case, either; both times he had a response ready, that he was babysitting or working. He’d told her he was doing yard work around his neighborhood to make money.

She loved her friends-she’d even come to enjoy Max’s company, once things were sorted out between the two of them-but she loved spending time with Mike, most of all. He was her boyfriend; and weren’t boyfriends and girlfriends supposed to spend time together?

The first few months of the visits, he would be the first one in the cabin, wrapping her in a hug, and whispering how he missed her. The last time she’d seen him, nearly a week ago, he came in with the same attitude, but...did he want to be here anymore?

She was pulled away from her thoughts when there was a sudden knock on the door; the secret knock.

At first, she was confused; it was the middle of the day, Hopper would still be at work. But then a moment later, she heard “El? It’s me.”

Mike.

Using her mind, she unlocked the door to let him in as she got up off the couch.

“Hey,” he said, walking in and closing the door behind him.

“Mike? I didn’t know you were coming,” she said. Hopper preferred that the party visit when he was there; he  _ especially _ preferred that he was present when Mike came over.

“I know,” Mike answered. “But I didn’t get to see you on Monday, and I had some time today, so…”

She hugged him, and smiled as she felt his arms wrap around her, hugging her back.

“I missed you,” she said, softly.

“Me, too,” he told her.

She pulled back, making a face. “You smell.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I was cutting my neighbor’s grass, and I didn’t get a chance to shower yet. You want me to stay here in the kitchen, while you watch your shows?” he asked, already knowing what her answer would be.

“ _ No _ ,” she said, tugging on his hand and walking to the couch. He stopped for a second and rubbed his arm.

She stopped, concerned again. “Mike?”

“It’s not you, El,” he said. “I just...I think I worked too hard today or something.”

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. “I’m fine. C’mon. Let’s see what’s on today.”

They spent the next hour on the couch, Eleven cuddled into Mike’s side, not caring whether he smelled or not. They watched her soaps, and then a cartoon show that Mike wanted to show her. Around four, he commented that he should get going.

“In case Hopper comes back,” Mike said.

The two walked to the door, Eleven still worried that he was keeping something from her. “Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you...happy?”

“Of course I am, El. Why?”

“It’s just…” she fidgeted with her hands. “You don’t come see me like you used to.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” he said, taking her hands into his. “I just keep...having all of this stuff to do.”

“Work?”

“Yeah, work. But...I’ll come see you on Saturday, if Hopper will let me.”

She nodded her head, already reminding herself to run it by her adoptive father.

“Okay. Well, I’ll see you later, I guess,” he said, closing the distance between them.

El smiled, as their heads tilted and their lips came together in a goodbye kiss.

Pulling apart, she felt the usual pang of sadness as she watched him walk out the door.

“Saturday,” she called after him.

“Yep. Saturday,” he said back.

 

*******

 

When he got home, Mike immediately went to take a shower. He was so  _ sore _ . The shower helped him, physically, but it didn’t help the guilt he felt inside of him.

He had lied to El. And, as they often said in their group,  _ friends don’t lie _ .

But he knew that if he’d told her why he’d really not been there Monday, or the past couple of days, it might upset her. What he was doing was for her.

Two things hard started this secret of his. The first took place back in February, when Dustin had finally convinced Eleven that Max had no interest in Mike, and the two girls had gotten to know one another. In anticipation of the girl’s first visit, the group had retold, as Dustin called it, Eleven’s Greatest Hits (it wasn’t until later they found out Lucas had already told Max). Reliving the events of that week in 1983 got Mike thinking about all of the times Eleven had bailed him out of either getting his ass kicked or, well, dying.

Then, two weeks ago, Mike had been searching through the basement, trying to find a game that Eleven hadn’t played before that he could introduce her to. After searching for a half hour and not finding anything, he’d stumbled across his father’s old free weights, tucked in a box in a corner. Which got him thinking.

What if something happened again? Whether with Troy, or another demonic entity from the Upside Down. What if the bad men came back?

When Mike thought back to those times, of being lifted into the air at the quarry, or watching Troy pee his pants in front of everyone (which still made him laugh), or the way he’d clutched a candlestick in anticipation of the demodogs, he thought about how...useless he felt. He would’ve/should’ve died at the quarry. Troy would’ve kicked his ass. And the demodogs more than likely would have devoured him.

He couldn’t have done anything. And now that Eleven was  _ officially _ his girlfriend, he wanted to be able to protect her. One, because he felt an obligation to do so. Two, because he felt so useless compared to her. And three, because he couldn’t help but think: what if she was drained, the next time something happened? What if she wasn’t there? What if she suddenly woke up and didn’t have her powers anymore? What if  _ he _ had to save  _ her _ ?

So over the past week he had, among other things, attempted to lift weights in the basement. He had also began jogging around the neighborhood. In truth, he  _ would _ mow lawns, but it was his own family’s.

So far, all it had given him were sore arms and legs; he didn’t feel any stronger. How long was it supposed to take? No one else knew about it, and he hoped it stayed that way. He knew his friends would tease him to no end about it, as would Nancy. His parents would look at him crazy if they knew.

As of now, he didn’t have a necessary end goal in mind, just to be able to protect Eleven. But he felt so bad lying to her about it. She wouldn’t understand why he was doing it, or, if she did, would try to get him to stop. He cared about her too much to do nothing. Somehow, he figured, he’d have to find a balance between seeing her and training. The reason his attendance at the cabin had been spotty over the last few days were a combination of trying to exercise, as well as being too tired. But he’d figure out a way to do both. El deserved it.

 

The next day, Friday, found the party over in the Wheeler’s basement for a majority of the day. They split their times between playing video games and watching movies. As the sun started to set, they disassembled for the night.

After everyone went out the basement door, Mike went and changed into looser clothes, then went back down into the basement to try and lift for a little bit before dinner. No sooner had he struggled to lift a dumbbell than the door that led outside opened, and Max’s eyes met his.

Shocked, he dropped the weight, nearly onto his foot. Max’s eyes got big.

“What’re you  _ doing _ ?” she asked.

“I...uh...what’re  _ you _ doing?”

“I left my skateboard,” she said, pointing to where it sat, leaning against the game table. “Are you lifting weights? Really?”

“I...it’s none of your business!” he exclaimed, attempting to kick a dumbbell away with his foot.

“Wait a minute,” Max said, walking all the way inside. “Is this why you’ve been tired? And why you haven’t been up to see El?”

Mike sighed, rolling his eyes. There was no use now, he figured. And, besides, all of this secrecy was driving him crazy. “I’m doing it for her,” he said.

Max raised an eyebrow. “How does you and your spaghetti arms lifting weights help El?”

Embarrassed, Mike looked down at his feet. “Nevermind.”

Max picked up her board, and sat at the table. “Wheeler. Come on. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he said, folding his arms. “Can you go now?”

She stood up, but she didn’t look like she was leaving. “You know, if this is why you’ve been a douchebag to El, then you’re not doing it for her.”

“What?”

“She’s been really upset,” Max said. “She thinks you don’t like her anymore.”

Mike felt even more guilty. Letting out a sigh, he said, “Okay, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to laugh.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll try.”

So Mike told her, briefly, how he wanted to be able to protect Eleven, and how he’d been exercising in secret. Max kept her promise not to laugh outright at him, but she did hide her face and snicker a few times.

“How long have you been doing this?” she asked when he finished.

“I don’t know, a week, maybe?” he answered, shrugging his shoulders. “Why?”

“Nothing. Just...it doesn’t look like anything’s changed,” she said.

“Shut up.”

Smiling, she said, “You do know that El doesn’t care about you protecting her, don’t you? It doesn’t matter to her that you’re, like, a string bean.”

“Will you stop it?” he asked, getting frustrated. “Just...don’t tell anybody, okay?”

“Alright,” she said, putting up her hands. “I just think it’s stupid, but alright.”

 

As it turned out, Mike’s secret didn’t stay a secret for long. Saturday morning, Max went out to the cabin on her own to visit Eleven. The two girls got popsicles from the freezer and sat on the porch, enjoying the light breeze that blew through the woods.

Max told Eleven about the previous day at Mike’s house (not the weight lifting), and El listened intently, but sadly, too.

“Your year’s almost up,” Max said encouragingly. “Pretty soon you’ll be with all of us.”

“I know,” El said, looking down. “It’s just hard sometimes.”

“Well, at least Mike is coming over today, right? And everyone’s coming over tomorrow?”

Smiling, Eleven nodded.

“You don’t still think he, you know...doesn’t like you, do you?”

Eleven’s smile faltered. “I don’t know. He’s tired when he’s here. I think sometimes that I’m…” she looked around her, searching for the right word, “Bo-ring him.”

Max snickered. “Believe me, he’d never think you were boring.”

“Then why doesn’t he come visit me?”

Max frowned, feeling sad for her new friend. She wanted so badly to tell her what was going on, but a promise was a promise. Putting her hand on Eleven’s back, she said, “Things will get better.”

“Promise?”

Max nodded. “Yeah. Besides, he can only lift weights for so long, right?” And she immediately grimaced when she realized she’d said it.

Still, with Eleven being who she was, it took a minute. “Lifting weights?”

“Yeah, it’s, um…” Max tried to think of a way to correct her mistake, but was drawing a blank. “It’s, uh, another way to say that someone is, you know...working.”

“Oh,” Eleven said, nodding.

Max took a deep breath as the two girls finished their popsicles, mentally kicking herself for the slip.

 

After Max left, Eleven went inside and spent time with Hopper, who had the day off. The two watched a movie. During a lull in the film, Eleven thought about what Max had said.

“What is lifting ways?” she asked.

Hopper looked confused. “Lifting ways? Do you mean lifting weights?”

She nodded.

“It’s like, um, exercising. You pick up heavy things, called weights, and go up and down with them.” He mimicked doing so.

“Why?”

“So people can get stronger,” he offered. “Why? You want to start weight training?”

She shook her head, wondering why Mike would be doing that.

 

Hours later, Eleven smiled as she saw Mike make his way through the woods and up to the cabin. Hopper was inside reading the paper, so the two stayed outside on the porch.

“Are you hurt?” she asked as they sat on the steps.

“Hurt?” he asked, confused.

“Your arm,” she said, tugging at his sleeve.

“Oh, no,” he answered, shaking his head. “Not today.”

He told her a little about what he’d done earlier in the day, when she suddenly asked, “Why do you lift weights?”

His eyes widened. “Wh...what’re you...what do you mean?”

“Max said you were...lifting weights?” Mike felt his face turn red, but before he could say anything, she continued with “She said that’s working.”

Mike let out a sigh, happy that Max had covered for what she said, but reminding himself that he needed to talk to her about her word choice.

“But then I asked Hopper,” she continued.

_ Crap _ .

“And he told me it’s exercising. People do it to be stronger. Why do you do it?”

Mike debated lying, but his dishonesty with her was killing him inside. Sighing, he answered, “I do it because I want to keep you safe, El.”

“I  _ am _ safe,” she said, a confused look on her face. Nodding towards the cabin, she said, “Hopper. And….” she held her hand out, and concentrated on a twig, making it explode.

“I know, but...nevermind.”

“Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“Friends don’t lie.”

Letting out a soft groan, he said, “ _ I  _ want to be able to keep you safe, El.”

“Why?”

“Because...I don’t know...you’re just so...cool, you know? You’ve saved me and the party so many times. And I’m...you know…”

“What?”

“Useless. Weak. I can’t  _ do _ anything, El. And I thought that, you know, what if something happens again? What if Hopper isn’t with you, or if you’re drained or something? I want to be able to protect you. I want to make sure you’re safe with me.”

She smiled at him. “I  _ am _ safe with you.”

“No, you’re not,” he said, looking down at his feet. “I’m just..”

“Mike.”

He looked up. “Yeah?”

“You’re  _ Mike _ ,” she told him. “I’ve always been safe with you. Ever since you found me in the woods, you’ve kept me safe.” Rubbing his arm, she said, “You don’t need to lift anything to protect me. You’re the one I go to when I want to feel protected. Always.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Friends tell the truth.”

He sighed. “But El…”

She shut him up by kissing him, hands gripping his shirt collar as she deepened it. He kissed her back, hands going to her sides before they pulled apart. After a moment, she lay on his shoulder as he put his arm around her.

“I’m safe right here,” she whispered.

Mike smiled. That was all he needed to hear. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wondered if Mike feels insecure compared to Eleven, so this story came about.
> 
> Comments = fuel.


End file.
